Acid Reflux

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  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    paisleyfan24 wrote: »
    I've had chronic gastritis/Gerd for many many years, tried several drugs, currently take Omeprazole and Zantac. I switched to being Vegetarian about 8 months ago and am Currently reading more about eating an Alkaline diet. I started drinking chamomile tea in the afternoon or evening, supposed to very healing for the gut. Trying to limit sugar, which is a big trigger for me, and less processed foods. Good luck!

    no such thing as an alkaline diet. you cannot change your body/bloods PH levels. your body tries to keep your PH levels to a certain level for a reason.
  • xosarahduh
    xosarahduh Posts: 24 Member
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    ClubSilencio wrote: »
    I'd check to see if you have low stomach acid. If you address that you'll fix the problem.

    If things like ACV before meals or squeezing lemon juice on your meals helps, that probably means you had low stomach acid.

    Digestive bitters can also help stimulate stomach acid. Find it at your health food store.

    OTC drugs only mask the problem and they can also deplete magnesium which can lead to symptoms much worse than acid reflux.
    How do I know if I have low acid?
  • WholeFoods4Lyfe
    WholeFoods4Lyfe Posts: 1,518 Member
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    Eliminating grains and most dairy is the only way that I'm ever able to keep my acid reflux under control. I fell off the wagon hard last summer and am currently back on my meds, Nexium in the AM and a PPI at bedtime. I've been off the grain and dairy for about a week now and it's already getting better. It usually takes me about 30 days for my system to heal enough for me to get completely off the Nexium but I anticipate getting off of the PPI within the next week.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    edited February 2016
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    michelle172415 wrote: »
    Eliminating grains and most dairy is the only way that I'm ever able to keep my acid reflux under control. I fell off the wagon hard last summer and am currently back on my meds, Nexium in the AM and a PPI at bedtime. I've been off the grain and dairy for about a week now and it's already getting better. It usually takes me about 30 days for my system to heal enough for me to get completely off the Nexium but I anticipate getting off of the PPI within the next week.

    oh let me tell you getting off the PPIs are HELL. especially if you have been on them awhile. I just got off mine a little over a month ago and your body will produce more acid in response. Im taking a generic acid reducer which helps a lot. You may have other side effects as well.also wean off of the PPI slowly.I was fine for the first 2 weeks then it hit me.but I had to quit the PPIs as they were causing me many health issues.but good luck with getting off of them.
  • Strawblackcat
    Strawblackcat Posts: 944 Member
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    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    paisleyfan24 wrote: »
    I've had chronic gastritis/Gerd for many many years, tried several drugs, currently take Omeprazole and Zantac. I switched to being Vegetarian about 8 months ago and am Currently reading more about eating an Alkaline diet. I started drinking chamomile tea in the afternoon or evening, supposed to very healing for the gut. Trying to limit sugar, which is a big trigger for me, and less processed foods. Good luck!

    no such thing as an alkaline diet. you cannot change your body/bloods PH levels. your body tries to keep your PH levels to a certain level for a reason.
    From what I've heard, the logic behind an alkaline diet is that eating alkalinity-promoting foods prevents your body from having to draw minerals out of bodily tissues to maintain the slightly basic pH that the body prefers. Since you wouldn't be eating acidic foods, the body wouldn't have to draw minerals like calcium and magnesium out of bone tissue to balance out acidity, which could help prevent bone loss.

    A lot of people with acid reflux have low stomach acid, though, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend an alkaline diet to help with that. I would try taking apple cider vinegar or Betaine HCl + Pepsin supplements to supplement their own stomach acid so that they would be digesting their food more efficiently. Digestive bitters or digestive enzymes may also help.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    Strawblackcat wrote: »
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    paisleyfan24 wrote: »
    I've had chronic gastritis/Gerd for many many years, tried several drugs, currently take Omeprazole and Zantac. I switched to being Vegetarian about 8 months ago and am Currently reading more about eating an Alkaline diet. I started drinking chamomile tea in the afternoon or evening, supposed to very healing for the gut. Trying to limit sugar, which is a big trigger for me, and less processed foods. Good luck!

    no such thing as an alkaline diet. you cannot change your body/bloods PH levels. your body tries to keep your PH levels to a certain level for a reason.
    From what I've heard, the logic behind an alkaline diet is that eating alkalinity-promoting foods prevents your body from having to draw minerals out of bodily tissues to maintain the slightly basic pH that the body prefers. Since you wouldn't be eating acidic foods, the body wouldn't have to draw minerals like calcium and magnesium out of bone tissue to balance out acidity, which could help prevent bone loss.

    A lot of people with acid reflux have low stomach acid, though, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend an alkaline diet to help with that. I would try taking apple cider vinegar or Betaine HCl + Pepsin supplements to supplement their own stomach acid so that they would be digesting their food more efficiently. Digestive bitters or digestive enzymes may also help.

    apple cider vinegar may work for awhile but fighting acid with acid is counter productive in the long term,it can also cause more acid to be produced which is not always a good thing,not to mention what it can do to your teeth and so on.as for using anything over the counter before you know the cause of the reflux or lack there of,its best to see a dr and make sure its not an underlying illness or disease causing it.people think an alkaline diet will cure their body of all kinds of things.It has nothing to do with drawing minerals out of bones and so on. people think that if they can change their alkalinity in their body then they can somehow cure themselves. you cannot change your PH balance in your body. your body, if working properly keeps it in balance, any foods you eat is not going to make a difference. some meds can cause acid reflux as well and something over the counter could interact with that.which is why its best to see a dr first and go from there.
  • TheDevastator
    TheDevastator Posts: 1,626 Member
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    If your acid reflux is from low stomach acid like mine was you can take betaine pills and eat whatever you want in moderation.
  • jaycam1989
    jaycam1989 Posts: 35 Member
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    Acid reflux can also be caused by sleep apnea. I was suffering and drinking Gaviscon like water to calm the burn, ever since my apnea is treated, the reflux is GONE and i can eat freely again!
  • xosarahduh
    xosarahduh Posts: 24 Member
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    I've noticed my pain hasn't been bad since I started meds except when I eat eggs.
  • ldowdesw
    ldowdesw Posts: 222 Member
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    Hiya, my hubby had reflux for years, actually since he was 15. Spaghetti bolognaise and orange juice were killers.. He now takes lanzoprozole tablets daily but he has a mild hernia, so please get yourself checked out.. Weight loss will only cure so much . Xx
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    yirara wrote: »
    Most dairy products cause reflux in my case: Most milks, pretty much all yogurts, cottage cheese and most other soft cheeses (soft young goats cheese is fine though), and lots of other things. Very specific brands of full fat milk are fine, but others again aren't. Really odd: I've lived in many different countries. All dairy in Denmark was problematic and only certain hard cheese imports were ok while I could eat and drink pretty much everything in the Middle East.

    Basically: find out what the culprit is for you and try to ignore.

    oh my god. As an American living in Copenhagen who has never ever had a problem with dairy before, me too!!! I need to know what the hell could be causing this as i've spoken to one other person who has to eat dairy-free here as well!
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    I also have bad recurring acid reflux. I am currently going on an elimination diet for other digestive problems, but i never had any acid reflux or problems until i was infected with H. Pylori.

    If taking omeprazole and reducing foods known to cause reflux (like spicy foods, fried foods, mint, tomatoes, chocolate, and alcohol) doesn't help, see your doctor! It could be H. Pylori which can cause ulcers.
  • ClubSilencio
    ClubSilencio Posts: 2,983 Member
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    rainbowbow wrote: »
    I also have bad recurring acid reflux. I am currently going on an elimination diet for other digestive problems, but i never had any acid reflux or problems until i was infected with H. Pylori.

    If taking omeprazole and reducing foods known to cause reflux (like spicy foods, fried foods, mint, tomatoes, chocolate, and alcohol) doesn't help, see your doctor! It could be H. Pylori which can cause ulcers.

    Yeah, getting tested for h. pylori is a good suggestion because if she has it then taking PPI's will only mask the root problem. H. pylori feeds on stomach acid and just destroys life overall. OP only mentioned the acid reflux though so hopefully it's not that serious.

    You're still having acid reflux after treatment for h. pylori? Did you get re-tested? May god be with you because I know all too well the damage that little bugger can inflict.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    edited February 2016
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    I had h pylori and still have issues with reflux. I have been tested not long ago(the second time they will do a stool sample) and it came back negative.hubby had it and has hardly any issues. it can be spread to as well by saliva,. we arent sure who had it first hubby or myself.so if you suffer from h pylori and have a significant other its best they get tested too,as it can cause severe health issues even stomach cancer if left untreated.I read something like over 50% of the worlds population has it but doesnt always know until they have symptoms. kinda odd

  • ClubSilencio
    ClubSilencio Posts: 2,983 Member
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    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    I had h pylori and still have issues with reflux. I have been tested not long ago(the second time they will do a stool sample) and it came back negative.hubby had it and has hardly any issues. it can be spread to as well by saliva,. we arent sure who had it first hubby or myself.so if you suffer from h pylori and have a significant other its best they get tested too,as it can cause severe health issues even stomach cancer if left untreated.I read something like over 50% of the worlds population has it but doesnt always know until they have symptoms. kinda odd

    Yeah, it only becomes an issue when there's an overgrowth of it. Otherwise it's a good thing to have (like many other bacteria) provided there's no symptoms.

    I actually read a study that correlated obesity with h. pylori eradication. So it's like a little bug that eats our food thus regulating our weight (if you're skinny-average)?

    The more I researched the less I wish I had. I'm over it now.

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